1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an image stabilizer, and more particularly, to an image stabilizer that is capable of correcting hand-shaking movement in yaw/pitch/roll directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image stabilizer is generally used in a camera or an electronic apparatus that is designed to capture and photograph an image. The image stabilizer moves an imaging unit, provided as a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) or a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor or optical lens located ahead of the imaging unit, in pitch/yaw directions, thereby correcting movement of the imaging unit caused by hand-shake or by external vibration and shock.
Relevant techniques that prevent a blurry image caused by hand-shake or external vibration include a shaft support method, a ball support method and a suspension wire/spring method. These methods move an imaging unit or a correction lens by driving an actuator, which consists of a coil and a magnet and which is disposed in a correction apparatus for compensating for displacement that occurs due to external factors such as hand-shake.
With the recent use of high pixel imaging units, the size of a pixel containing an image is reduced to 1.5 μm, and thus, there is an increased necessity to correct a blurry image caused by rotation of an optical axis.
However, in order to correct in pitch/yaw directions smoothly, an image stabilizer is intentionally configured to restrict movement in a rotation direction of an optical axis. Therefore, it is impossible provide corrections in a roll direction in which the imaging unit rotates with respect to the optical axis.